The Belt Attacker

I was walking off a late-night snack around 3:30 in the morning. There was a woman walking with a man right behind her. She kept turning around at him. I could tell that she didn’t want his attention. She was headed down Irving which is a very dimly lit street. At one point the woman suddenly jumped back and began dialing on her cellphone. I figured she was calling the police. Being just across the street, I approached them and ask for the time. The woman seemed startled. The man just looked at me. The woman then continued down Irving street. The man began to follow her. I yelled,”You shouldn’t be doing that.” The guy stopped and turned around towards me. I pulled out my pocket camera and took a quick picture. That really got his attention. The woman kept walking down Irving and the man’s attention was now on me. He mumbled something and then came towards me.

I crossed Mount Pleasant street and he followed me. He began taking off his belt and then began swinging it at me in a zig-zag cross motion. The belt buckle struck me several times. I lifted my cane to stop the blows. I began yelling. There was a couple walking across the street and a guy yelled,”We’re calling the police.” I managed to strike the assailant with my cane on his head. I had hit him so hard that my cane bent. He ran across the street into an alley. Another man was walking past me and I told him to watch out. The assailant was now gathering beer bottles as the police approached. He threw a bottle just as the first of 3 police cars stopped. The officers chased him down the alley. They returned a few minutes later with him in handcuffs. An ambulance arrived but I refused to be checked out. I signed a waiver and they left. The assailant managed to throw his belt away in the alley.

The officers and I searched for about 30 minutes and didn’t find it. The other witness’s saw it and the officer said that was good enough. The assailant was arrested. The woman was safe. I am covered in bruises.

Submitted by Cephas on 6/1/2010

Location: Irving and Mount Pleasant street N.W.

Do you have a personal experience with gender-based public sexual harassment or assault you would like to submit? Just click here and fill out the online submission form. All submissions are posted anonymously unless you specify.

JB

It’s terrible that you ended up with bruises, but as someone who has lived all of her life right around the corner from there- thank you so much for stepping in. I’m super glad that the guy ended up in custody. I hope you heal asap!